Annie Louisa Swynnerton nee Robinson - Girl on a Swing, 19th century oil on canvas, signed, 107cm x 81.5cm, within a gilt composition frame of wide section. Note: Annie Louisa Swynnerton nee Robinson was born in Manchester in 1844, where she developed an early interest in art. She studied at the Manchester School of Art before furthering her education at the Academie Julian in Paris. Her work was significantly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Italian Renaissance artists. Swynnerton became a pioneering figure in the art world, particularly as a woman in a male-dominated field. She was the first female associate of the Royal Academy of Arts, elected in 1922. Her portraits, often of strong and thoughtful women, garnered considerable acclaim. She also painted landscapes and genre scenes, displaying a deep appreciation for light and form. Throughout her career, Swynnerton exhibited at all the principal venues including the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, and the Grosvenor Gallery. She was friends with many prominent artists and intellectuals of her time, including the sculptor Joseph Swynnerton, whom she married in 1883, as well as the Pankhurst family. Swynnerton was an active supporter of the Women's suffrage movement and a signatory to the 1889 National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies' Declaration. Swynnerton's legacy is that of a trailblazer who broke barriers for women artists and left behind a body of work that has largely been underappreciated since her death in 1933.